Beyond the Pale
by Lady of Light
Summary: The night before graduating as a Ranger, a young Niko is required to choose between her homeworld and everything she's worked for.


"Beyond the Pale"

"Beyond the Pale"

BETA Mountain

Cadet Quarters Room 23

23:09 PM Local Time 

_ _

_Choose_.The voice rolled across the astral plane like thunder, echoing through her mind.

Already on the edge of sleep, Niko sighed and released her consciousness into the glowing, shifting world that existed just beyond the barriers of normal perception.

Familiarity did not lessen the impact of entering the astral plane.Events and information streamed with the quicksilver immediacy of _now_, bombarding her with stimulus, with demands.The trick was to simply be open to the barrage, and let coherent perception sort itself out as a kind of aftertaste.

The Circle of Thought had not provided a setting for their summons; Niko's spirit hovered in a space filled with white light.The Circle's mental construct stood before her, immeasurable in its immensity, implacable in its demand.

*_Choose now.*_

_*Why?*_Niko felt a momentary flash of panic; it emanated from her translucent form in a flare of orange. __*Why now?*

_*You are living in the mundane, embracing it.Yet you are of the spirit and the homeworld.You cannot be both, and you are not yet either.Therefore, choose.*_The weight of twelve minds awaited her answer.__

_*What will happen if I choose to return to Xanadu?* _

_*You will continue your studies.Fulfill your purpose.Become a healer and scholar.*_

_*And if I choose to remain on Earth?*_

_*You will not fulfill your purpose in a mundane life.*_The leading overtone of the many-mind was that of _Ardryth_ Levteris, one of the most vocal of the Circle of Thought.

_*Xanadu is my home, but Earth is the world of my parents' birth.*_Niko struggled to shield her emotions._*I want to experience them both.*_

*There are too many distractions on that path.You will forget all that Ariel has striven to teach you.*

*Respectfully, ardryth, Ariel taught me that knowledge must be tested and shared to be of value.The mundane world is a reflection of the spiritual one; there are good and bad aspects to both.Is it wrong to want balance for myself?*

_*No, student.*_The voice was Ariel's.Her mentor was a huge, shining presence on the astral, separate from the manyminded Circle_.*However, the mundane is immediate.It demands attention, and it leaves little time for other pursuits.Balance such as you seek is rarely known in the physical world.*_

In the physical world, Niko's mouth firmed into a stubborn line._*All the more reason for me to stay.*_

_*Argument is pointless.You waste your talents if you remain, and you risk the homeworld's safety as long as you remain beyond the Pale.*_

_*I swore an oath before the Circle when I left.Xanadu will not be betrayed by my words or actions.I will tell no one where to find it, nor lead them through the Pale, unless the Circle wills it.However, I will also choose to remain on Earth.*_ __

_*You choose their disharmony over all that the Circle offers?*_

_*That is my free choice, in accordance with the highest law.*_

_*"One's mind belongs to oneself."Very well; in accordance with the law, we accept your choice, Niko dal'Ariel.*_The Circle's composite voice was coated with a slight sour tinge of Levteris' annoyed disappointment._*See that you do not fail us.*_

Ariel's presence remained, shimmering, after the multipresent Circle had withdrawn.Her shining form radiated concern in waves of coherent light. _*It will be difficult, Niko.*_

_*I know.I can See it.*_Even in the astral plane, the young woman's eyes went violet in the reflex that had always unnerved her mentor.*_But I will not turn my back on everything I have trained for on either side – psi or mundane.*_

*You never could choose the simple path.*Unlike her own mentor, Ariel dal'Levteris understood Niko's deep need to follow the course she'd set.*Do you regret my taking you to Xanadu?*

*How could I regret something I don't even remember happening?*Niko emanated deep love and affection for the older woman.*I can't imagine a life without Xanadu, Ariel.But…. *

*But?*

*I've never felt like I really belonged there.I'm the only human on Xanadu.*

*Here you are one among millions of humans.Is this easier for you?*

_Niko scuffed an insubstantial toe against the intangible ground.*Nothing has been easy since I've left the homeworld.*_

*Ah, now.What do they do, these human classmates of yours?Do they stare?Whisper behind your back and wonder if you can sense their fear?They believe you'll read their minds with a touch, and so avoid touching you?*

*Yes, mentor.It's… hard.You and I lived quietly on Xanadu, but this is isolation of a different sort.I'm alone in a crowd, and yet I can hear them all…. Feel their thoughts out of sheer volume.I thought at first it was because there were other telepaths around, but there is no one here like me.*

*At the academy?*Ariel affected surprise.

*No, on Earth.Do they not have psions here?*

*They did, once.According to the records in the Great Library, many of those died in a terrible war. Some of those who survived left the planet for colonies on the fringe of space.*

*Like my parents.*She couldn't remember anything but the faint smell of lavender that reminded her of her mother, but thinking about her parents always made Niko's stomach twist in knots of sadness and an odd fear. 

*Yes.Like your parents.*Ariel's mental voice sharpened.*Who is this man I see in your thoughts?*

*Ah, him.I'm not the only one having trouble fitting in.This man…younger than I am, is completely shunned.The other cadets seem to be afraid of him.*

_*But not you, my fearless child?*_Ariel snorted._*A handsome specimen, but so cold, student.Surely you could do better.*_

*Ariel!I'm not doing anything.I'm just….*

*Drawn to him.Yes, I know.What woman wouldn't be?But this man is not one of the broken-winged cathir you used to bring home to heal, Niko.He is dangerous to you.His thoughts are disciplined, but his emotions…There is too much rage in him for my liking.*

Niko rolled her eyes.*Before you get too worried, the only thing I have in common with him is that we're in the same graduating class.We've never had training or coursework in common.I suppose that the academy decided that one freak per classroom is enough to deal with.*

Ariel's mental eyebrows rose._*And this is the world you're choosing over the homeworld's peace?*_

*Yes.Balance has to start somewhere, no matter what reservations Ardryth Levteris voices.*

_*Hmph.Levteris can have all the reservations he wants – and he will!I know that you will be true to yourself.In the end, that's what counts.*_An ethereal hand touched Niko's equally insubstantial cheek._*Know that I will be watching you when you graduate tomorrow.I am proud of the woman you've become, _anam-chara_ Niko.*_

Ariel's image withdrew, and Niko rode the residual feeling of a psychic cuddle down into true sleep.Tomorrow, she'd finally become a Galaxy Ranger.

Notes:

_*Text*_ indicates telepathic conversation.

Linguistic Notes: 

_Anam-chara_ – literally, "heart-daughter"

_Ardryth_ – "High Master".A title held by the members of the Circle of Thought.

_Cathir_ – a kestrel-like bird native to Xanadu's southern region.

_Dal'_ – prefix meaning "student of"

January 2001, by Kelly Smith


End file.
